Rain forest Nature’s superstore

Many of the things that we use and eat every day come from the rainforest. New animals and plants that could be useful in the future are being discovered all the time.

All of these things come from rainforest plants.

Many of the foods that we eat come from the rainforest. Banana, coffee and avocado plants first grew wild in rainforests and are now grown in large plantations. Some foods, such as Brazil nuts are still collected from trees growing in the rainforest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The poison in these frogs’ skin is being used to make a new medicine.

Scientists have discovered that the poison from the skin of this rainforest frog is an excellent painkiller. They have used the poison to develop a new medicine that is much safer to take than other painkillers. It is being tested and could soon be helping many people worldwide.

 

 

 

 

 

This rainforest plant has saved many lives.

This plant is a rosy periwinkle. It grows in the rainforests of Madagascar and is used to make a medicine for treating a disease called leukaemia. Scientists have only looked for medicines in about one percent of the huge number of plants that grow in rainforests. They believe that many more life saving medicines will be discovered in rainforest plants.